Speakout 12/17

I am a black woman living in an all-white neighborhood. I would like to know something. Is it shame to be the only black and they take your dog and kill it and lay it on the side of the road? If anybody on County Line Road knows who killed my dog, please let me know. That's a shame.

Is there going to be a Santa Claus in any of the stores in Sikeston or the surrounding area where you can take your children to have their pictures taken with him? If so, please leave the information in SpeakOut

The land that the St. John's Bayou involves will increase the value by $12 million, I understand. So let me get this straight. The taxpayer is being forced (the landowner is unlikely to be a taxpayer; he is a subsidized landowner) to fork over and invest $85 to probably double that $60 million before we're through, to increase the value of one or a handful of families' property $12 million. Have I got that straight? Let's also add into that the destruction of the property through the flooding of individuals' houses and so on, the destruction of neighborhoods. I want to know why the landowner who cut through the levee was not charged and sent to prison. That's never been made clear, and who is it? Let's make that clear. Let's have a little honesty here. The way I understand it, if I cut or any other ordinary person cut a hole in a levee, I would be charged with criminal activity. But a large landowner can do it and then cause a complete alteration of a drainage system in a whole section of the country and cost the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars to increase the value of the land this person owns, and still doesn't go to jail for any criminal activity.

Has anyone ever wondered how these people or men who draw welfare checks can get by with living with another person who has a job and helps support that household when these people don't have any money left out of their checks? Wouldn't you consider that income going into that household helping to support their family?

What is going on with the water here in Sikeston? I just finished washing a load of clothes and the clothes are just yellow. The inside tub of my washer has begun to build up a yellow color and my sinks are turning yellow. We pay enough on our utility bills to have clear water. My whites are turning yellow and the toilet bowl is turning yellow. It's bad enough with the clothes, but what am I consuming? I'm cooking with this water. It's a shame, as much as we pay.

When this happens you need to call the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities at 471-3328 to report the problem. The after-hours number is 471-1181. According to BMU, this happens sometimes during seasonal temperature changes or other disturbances such as a fire in the area or if there has been a water main break in the vicinity to disturb the water lines.